Gone But Not Forgotten: The Vanished Buildings of SPS
Lisa Laughy January 7th, 2009
Lisa Laughy – Archives Assistant
On first seeing the St. Paul’s School grounds it is easy to believe that it has always looked the same – there is a timeless feeling to the architecture here. So it can be quite surprising when looking through photographs from the Archives to see just how much things have changed in Millville since the first classes were held in the spring of 1856. So much has changed architecturally at St. Paul’s that Ohrstrom staff created an online exhibit a number of years ago documenting the buildings that have vanished from common memory.
The Vanished Buildings of St. Paul’s School online exhibit has now been updated to reflect the redesign of the Ohrstrom Library website. It features nearly fifty images and maps from the SPS Archives covering over a century and a half of St. Paul’s School history. By browsing through the exhibit, you catch a glimpse of a past that offers up a very different collection of buildings from what you see on the grounds today.
For instance, you will discover that your favorite expanse of lawn for tossing a Frisbee was once a crowded cluster of brick buildings connected by a cloistered walkway. Also, while we all know that Coit is called “The Upper”, doesn’t it make more sense knowing that there was once a “Lower”?
While looking through the redesigned online exhibit try to imagine what it was like to be a student here in years past. Walking through School grounds may take on a different look and feel when seen through the lens of these old images.
